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Authors: Scilla James
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and I come with you to the farm?â Emily asked her father.
âIf you like,â he said.
11
Darren
Beattie managed to find her way back to the cottage easily, ducking and diving to keep out of sight. The white in her coat stood out against the green and brown fields. Her stomach rumbled with a mixture of hunger and fear. She saw that the van was back and that Andyâs motorbike was missing, and within moments heard the sound of an engine whining, high pitched as Darren accelerated along the lanes. The fields would be safer, she thought, but she needed to keep alongside the lanes too, so she could remember the way. She set off as fast as she could, and soon her spirits began to rise as the sound of the motorbike faded and she guessed that Darren had gone back to the old farmhouse to search for her there.
But she was wrong. As she rounded a sharp bend, he was waiting for her. Heâd parked the motorbike and walked quietly back, hiding behind a bush waiting to pounce. He must have seen her coming.
âGottcha!â he shouted, as he threw his jacket over her and pushed her down to the ground. âThought youâd make a break for it did you? Well, ha ha.â He pinched her through the cloth, and she yelped in pain. But as she lay still waiting for him to take hold of her, she thought, Now what would Mother do? Bite! So, as Darren brought his arms underneath her to lift her up, she bit him hard just above the elbow. Snarling and baring her teeth for a second bite, she took him by surprise. The jacket he had thrown over her was thin, and sheâd felt her teeth sink into his arm.
âYou little....â But he loosened his hold for a second, and Beattie was away. She crossed the lane and pushed through a prickly hedge opposite, as Darren leapt to his feet and over a nearby gate to follow her, swearing horribly and making clear what he would do to her when he got his hands on her again. But she was far faster than him, and he soon gave up.
Beattie ran, impressed by her success. The first time sheâd bitten anyone!
But which direction to take? She trotted on for several miles, until the light began to fade and she realised that she was lost. She came to a main road and knew she had to cross it, but the speed of the traffic frightened her. She took a breath and ran across. There was a squeal of brakes and a lorry swerved to avoid her. Dust flew and a long blast from a horn sounded. Beattie fled. She was aware of the lorry braking and a car swerving out of its way as it pulled in to the side of the road, but she didnât stay to see what happened after that.
She was too tired and hungry to run for long, but the houses and flats on this side of the road looked more like the sort of place where Brian lived. She also recognised the railway line, which she knew ran towards town. She decided to follow it, and settled into a slow walk on a pavement running alongside the line.
More houses appeared to the right of her, and from one of them the smell of food was so overpowering that she gathered her energy and jumped over the garden wall in the hope of finding something to eat. For the second time that day she surprised herself, as she reached up high and grabbed something which was half hanging from the overfilled bin. Fish and chips! Or the cold remains of them, and within moments she had swallowed the lot. Who minded vinegar? Not her.
Refreshed and relieved, she licked the greasy paper, took a drink from a nearby birdbath, and was off again.
The railway line stretched away into the distance, towards the lights of the city. Beattie decided to stay near to it. Surely by now Darren would be watching telly with Andy and Mike, and would have forgotten all about her. But she was wrong again, as she heard the sound of a motorbike and guessed that he too was following the railway line. She listened. What she urgently needed was a bridge, and one that motorbikes werenât allowed to cross.
But as
âIf you like,â he said.
11
Darren
Beattie managed to find her way back to the cottage easily, ducking and diving to keep out of sight. The white in her coat stood out against the green and brown fields. Her stomach rumbled with a mixture of hunger and fear. She saw that the van was back and that Andyâs motorbike was missing, and within moments heard the sound of an engine whining, high pitched as Darren accelerated along the lanes. The fields would be safer, she thought, but she needed to keep alongside the lanes too, so she could remember the way. She set off as fast as she could, and soon her spirits began to rise as the sound of the motorbike faded and she guessed that Darren had gone back to the old farmhouse to search for her there.
But she was wrong. As she rounded a sharp bend, he was waiting for her. Heâd parked the motorbike and walked quietly back, hiding behind a bush waiting to pounce. He must have seen her coming.
âGottcha!â he shouted, as he threw his jacket over her and pushed her down to the ground. âThought youâd make a break for it did you? Well, ha ha.â He pinched her through the cloth, and she yelped in pain. But as she lay still waiting for him to take hold of her, she thought, Now what would Mother do? Bite! So, as Darren brought his arms underneath her to lift her up, she bit him hard just above the elbow. Snarling and baring her teeth for a second bite, she took him by surprise. The jacket he had thrown over her was thin, and sheâd felt her teeth sink into his arm.
âYou little....â But he loosened his hold for a second, and Beattie was away. She crossed the lane and pushed through a prickly hedge opposite, as Darren leapt to his feet and over a nearby gate to follow her, swearing horribly and making clear what he would do to her when he got his hands on her again. But she was far faster than him, and he soon gave up.
Beattie ran, impressed by her success. The first time sheâd bitten anyone!
But which direction to take? She trotted on for several miles, until the light began to fade and she realised that she was lost. She came to a main road and knew she had to cross it, but the speed of the traffic frightened her. She took a breath and ran across. There was a squeal of brakes and a lorry swerved to avoid her. Dust flew and a long blast from a horn sounded. Beattie fled. She was aware of the lorry braking and a car swerving out of its way as it pulled in to the side of the road, but she didnât stay to see what happened after that.
She was too tired and hungry to run for long, but the houses and flats on this side of the road looked more like the sort of place where Brian lived. She also recognised the railway line, which she knew ran towards town. She decided to follow it, and settled into a slow walk on a pavement running alongside the line.
More houses appeared to the right of her, and from one of them the smell of food was so overpowering that she gathered her energy and jumped over the garden wall in the hope of finding something to eat. For the second time that day she surprised herself, as she reached up high and grabbed something which was half hanging from the overfilled bin. Fish and chips! Or the cold remains of them, and within moments she had swallowed the lot. Who minded vinegar? Not her.
Refreshed and relieved, she licked the greasy paper, took a drink from a nearby birdbath, and was off again.
The railway line stretched away into the distance, towards the lights of the city. Beattie decided to stay near to it. Surely by now Darren would be watching telly with Andy and Mike, and would have forgotten all about her. But she was wrong again, as she heard the sound of a motorbike and guessed that he too was following the railway line. She listened. What she urgently needed was a bridge, and one that motorbikes werenât allowed to cross.
But as
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